Oakland Raiders Transcript

Oakland Raiders Transcript General Manager Mike Mayock and Head Coach Jon Gruden Opening Statement from General Manager Mike Mayock: “Welcome to Napa, everybody. I don’t know if we need a mic or not, not a big room. But, welcome to Napa, we think it’s an awesome place to train. We’ve got an awful lot done with the young guys this week. I think the thing [Head Coach] Jon [Gruden] are most excited about with the young guys is, you know, we don’t know what they’re going to be yet. We haven’t put pads on and the vets aren’t here, but as advertised as far as work ethic, mental agility and passion for the game of football. I think Jon and I have both reall, really been pleased so far with that aspect of it. So, having said that, I’ll tell you one other thing. I’ve been to a lot of training camps in my life. I’ve never seen a greater volume of plays run and the mental agility to handle that on both sides of the line of scrimmage over a three day period was really fun to watch with this young group of guys. That’s kind of where we are. Let’s open up for some questions.” Q: What excites you the most about this team with the small sample size that you have seen thus far? Mayock: “I think it’s the energy right now with the young guys. Jon and I have had an awful lot of conversations about these kids and the passion for the game and setting the foundation and all of that. When you see the fact that they not only show up in shape, but they only show up and they have their heads in the books, man. When Jon starts going quads empty on the first day and the defensive backs know what the proper adjustment is, it’s pretty cool. That’s what we’re juiced about.” Q: After many changes this offseason, does it kind of feel like the first real camp that you are able to build this team the way you want to get it headed in the right direction? Coach Gruden: “Yes, we have a lot of new players at every position. We are very confident that we have taken some really good steps in building our football team. We need some veterans to come through, we need some young guys to come through, but we do feel like we’ve gotten faster, we feel like we’ve gotten bigger. We’ve got a lot to prove, that’s for sure.” Q: This is a much younger roster today than it was at this time last year. What have you seen from some of these younger players in terms of how they are integrating into the roster? Coach Gruden: “Well, it’s been exciting like Mike just said. You have to really be impressed with [Clelin] Ferrell, and Maxx Crosby, and Quentin Bell, the three young defensive ends we’ve brought in here. Their roles are different, they have versatility, they can go do a number of different things. So, I’m really, really excited about that. Trayvon Mullen has come in here and proven that he is going to be a competitor and win a job here. Vontaze Burfict is going to be the straw that stirs the drink. He’s going to be big part of this defense, calling it, making adjustments. We’re hoping Brandon Marshall can be an associate of his and when you put Tahir Whitehead into that group, we feel like we have improved a position that we have really struggled at over the years.” Q: This is one of the few times Derek Carr has come back the next season to the same offense. Given that experience that he has, how much does that put you guys ahead as an offense and how much does that open it up to you as a play caller and what you are able to do that you may not have been able to last year? Coach Gruden: “There’s never been any restrictions with Derek. I thought Derek was unbelievable last year in some really tough situations. We have a brand new receiving corps, we have a new tight end, new feature back, a new right tackle and a new left guard. We have a lot of change around him – hopefully for the better – but he has done a great job, not only with the system, he’s done a great job leading the group. He’s had those players at his place in Fresno. He’s clearly established himself as not only an excellent quarterback, but a premier leader on this team.” Do you know which players are going to open the camp on the Physically Unable to Perform List? Mayock: “Yeah, at this we have two names. On the PUP, Denzelle Good had lower back surgery five weeks ago, prognosis is plus or minus two months from around right now. And then on NFI, Non-Football Injury, Keith Smith. You guys all saw that recently. He had a left knee and again, don’t have a prognosis but that’s nowhere near a season- ending injury. That’s it for now.” 7.26.19 Oakland Raiders Transcript Q: With Good out right now, how does left guard look with Richie Incognito serving a two-game suspension to start the season? Coach Gruden: “Well, we’ve signed Jonathan Cooper, a former first-round pick of Arizona who has been in the league for a while. Played in a system last year that is very similar to the one that we run. I’m really impressed with Cooper. He came in healthy, he’s really smart and athletic. To have a couple veteran guards play next to Kolton Miller is something we’re excited about but we’re certainly going to have some competition this summer at left guard.” Q: What do you like out of Keelan Doss and what do you like out of undrafted free agents in general? Coach Gruden: “(laughter) Doss is one of my favorite guys. I get all fired up talking about this guy. He can play all three positions. He might be as smart as any young receiver I have been around. Now, can he make the plays? Can he get away from [Gareon] Conley? Can he get away from our corners, our top-flight guys? We’ll see. He’s going to get a lot of playing time in the preseason. He can play split-end, flanker or in the slot. He’s going to contribute on special teams. What do I like about undrafted free agents? I don’t know, I like Rich Gannon. I like a lot of these guys that come up the hard way with a chip on their shoulder. We have a number of those guys in this camp that are going to eb fun to watch. And really going back to what Mike said, the last four practices with the rookies has allowed them to catch up mentally where they can get in the huddle on offense or defense and handle the multiple adjustments that you have to handle in this league. So, we’re excited about these guys.” Q: What have you seen out of Johnathan Abram thus far in camp? Have you been impressed with his mental retention of the system? Coach Gruden: “Yeah, he’s very sharp. He loves football, it starts there. You can’t get rid of the guy. He’s texting me, calling me. I’m going to change rooms so that he can’t find me. I love this guy, you’ll love Abram. He’s an old school throwback ball player. He’s got to continue to refine his game, he’s got to learn the NFL game and we’re confident in him. Mayock: “He was so frustrated at the walkthrough yesterday that he couldn’t hit people. Jon’s calling him out. He’s looking at Jon like ‘Just let me go.’ (laughter) It’s fun to watch, it really is.” Q: How important is Kolton Miller to your offense this year, and what have you seen from his development this offseason? Gruden: “Well, the offensive tackle position is vital to any pro offense. I remember when we came here we really didn’t have one tackle in their prime that was healthy on the whole team, that had proven he could play in this league, so we had to go out an address that position when you have a quarterback like Derek Carr. Kolton Miller is a guy that we think has a huge upside. He’s tough also, he played through a lot of things last year. He’s a sharp kid, he’s got a lot of pride. I would be shocked if he is not one of the strong points of this offensive team this year. We think a lot of him.” Q: What do you think you have at tight end going into camp, and what have you seen from Paul Butler? Gruden: “Well, we respect the shoes that need to be filled. Losing Jared Cook is going to be a hard pill to swallow, he was an outstanding player for us. We think Darren Waller is going to be a really fun guy for everybody to follow. He’s athletic, he’s hungry, he’s got an opportunity that he’s been waiting for.

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